In 2014, TeamViewer conducted their IT Admin Behavioral Study to understand how IT administrators felt about employee habits and company usage. 92% reported frustrations by company behavior viewed as “troublesome” in how employees handled equipment and reached out to IT for support. 70% of IT administrators felt frustrated by their work, and 12% stated that the frustration made them want to quit their jobs. So, how can this frustration be eased, especially in the deployment of new technology?
Whether it’s hardware or software, IT administrators empower their teams to stay focused to complete any implementation correctly. However, such implementations have an impact across a company, in one or more departments. Working together can require a lot of effort, patience and the ability to be flexible, despite frustration.
While project management may seem to be a solution to manage technology deployments, it can also become an obstacle. A lot of the “grunt” work in a project is performed by IT. They are often only viewed the doers, because they have a specific skillset that no one else in the company has. However, IT administrators offer value in their experience and knowledge and keep a business forward-moving.
The goal with any deployment or project is for action to be seamless with minimal disruption. It important to ensure employees understand how your IT department functions. As much as they support the company and its employees, they also need support from them.
Perhaps, this list of 5 frustrations will help to shed some light and gain support for your IT team at work.

  1. “Include us!” Communication is critical, but it is also needs to be a two-exchange. IT may be doing the bulk of the work, but they also should be able to provide feedback and make recommendations on feasibility, approach and implementation. By having a dialogue, others can begin to understand how IT operates and can best serve the intended project.
  2. “Let us take the lead sometime!” Project managers may not fully speak the language of IT. IT administrator should be a partner in managing the deployment. That way, there is proper coverage, tasks are being completed against milestones and make sure resources are being properly managed within the department and in other areas of the business.
  3. “Stop making changes!” Frequent change requests can impact the efficiency of any implementation or update. IT teams manage multiple responsibilities to support the technological needs of your business. Certainly, there may be times when a change is necessary. However, all change requests should be evaluated to determine the priority on whether it’s something that can happen now or later.
  4. “Report errors…PLEASE!” Having a testing phase is a must for any project. Testing by IT and business units can help make deployments run smoothly. Even moreso is reporting of any errors. The earlier someone finds a defect, the sooner it can be addressed. Finding errors late in the game can disrupt business and put more pressure on IT resources.
  5. “We are NOT magicians!” Your IT department is full of talented people. As much as their ability to code, program and install can seem magical, it requires skill, experience and time. While it may seem as if implementing a new technology or upgrading a system is simple, it may not be, as it seems. Allow your team members to set the realistic expectations with your employees, no matter the request.

Deployment can be a stressful time for all involved. It might require “all hands on deck.” As an IT administrator, you can demonstrate the value of your team to the project and overall organization. To do this, give them the proper support to ensure they are performing well, even when under pressure.